Mark Humphrey and Rob Long of Douglas based law firm, Long & Humphrey, have announced that Oliver Helfrich has joined them as a director and shareholder.

The big day was last Thursday (February 1), the day the firm was also incorporated.

Oliver qualified as an English solicitor in 2002 and after having moved to the island with his wife, Helen, qualified as a Manx advocate in 2006.

Having previously worked closely with both Mark and Rob for several years at Dickinson Cruickshank and following a five-year stint as a civil litigator in the Attorney General’s Chambers, Oliver returned to private practice to join Long & Humphrey in April 2012.

Oliver said: ’It is a pleasure working with such a dedicated group of talented professionals, for whom I have enormous respect and I relish the challenge of becoming more involved with the management and development of this firm whose values and approach to the provision of legal services I greatly admire.’

Mark Humphrey said: ’The next few years at Long & Humphrey promise to be very exciting, as the firm expands to both accommodate our success and to meet the demands of the industry.

’At Long & Humphrey we recognise that our strength is in the service we deliver, the integrity we demonstrate and the relationships that we enjoy, within our firm, with our clients, and within our community.

’Oliver is an exceptional advocate, with a proven track record of success and client satisfaction, and his personality is a great fit for the firm’s ethos; this marks the start of an exciting new chapter for the firm.’

As well as his new management responsibilities, Oliver will continue to practise within the firm’s dispute resolution department, focusing on all aspects of commercial and chancery litigation. In addition to civil dispute resolution generally, Oliver’s specialisms include public law (including doleance [judicial review]), personal injury (claimant and defendant), employment, contentious probate, points based migration, and Town and Country planning.

Oliver continues to give talks on civil litigation, and public law (including doleance).

He and Helen have two children and he is heavily involved in coaching children’s cricket, with Cronkbourne Cricket Club, the Manx Youth Games, and the Isle of Man Cricket Association U10 performance squad. Oliver is also involved on the committee of the Manx Gateway Club.

Oliver Helfrich